Appendix M:
Managing Extensions

About the Dreamweaver Exchange and Dreamweaver Extensions
Using the Dreamweaver Exchange
Installing Extensions With the Extension Manager
Managing Extensions With the Extension Manager
Importing Extensions From Dreamweaver 3

About the Dreamweaver Exchange and Dreamweaver Extensions

Dreamweaver users and developers can add functionality to the Dreamweaver software, and the Dreamweaver Exchange is a resource on Macromedia's site that allows you to download extensions to Dreamweaver. Extensions include behaviors, commands, and objects, and more.

You no longer need to know what type of resource an extension is when you download it. Previously, you had to unzip the file and then load it into the correct Dreamweaver folder yourself, but now you can use the Extension manager, which can install and uninstall extensions for you.

The Extension manager also works with Flash and UltraDev.

There are many shortcuts within Dreamweaver that will take you to the Dreamweaver Exchange so you can download extensions.

To visit the Dreamweaver Exchange:

  1. From the Document window menu bar, select Commands > Get More Commands, or
  2. From the Document window menu bar, select Insert > Get More Objects, or
  3. On the Behaviors inspector, click on the + button and select Get More Behaviors from the pop-up menu; or Follow this link.

Using the Dreamweaver Exchange

The Dreamweaver Exchange is just like any other Web-based software library. You visit the page, search for tools that sound interesting or that solve problems you have, and then you download those tools. You'll use the Extension Manager to install them, and then they'll be part of the Dreamweaver interface, on the Objects palette, in the Commands menu, or on the Behaviors inspector.

Logging In

Before you can download extensions, you must create a username and password. Do this first. You need to log in to download or upload these files.

Browsing and Searching for Extensions

The Dreamweaver Exchange offers many different ways to choose an extension. These are categorized not by file type (behaviors, objects, and commands), but rather by what kind of content or functionality they provide.

You can browse by category, you can browse all extensions, or you can search for keywords. You can also choose extensions from the featured selections, the what's new category, or the Top 5 category.

Additionally, the Dreamweaver Exchange includes discussion groups about each extension, so you can find out tips and tricks or problems with use before or after you install one.

When you get a list of extensions, you can also sort them by column headers, which include extension name, author name, date posted (to find newer extensions), version (to find revisions), rating (user reviews on a 1-5 scale), approval (whether Macromedia endorses the extension), or number of downloads.

Extension Categories

As of this writing, these are the extension categories.

Accessibility: Create versions of your pages that work with different sorts of devices, including Web browsers for the visually impaired and content-rating systems. Examples: Check Compatibility, Super SafeSurf, Insert HTML DocTypes.

App Server: Use these when your site involves dynamically served pages. Examples: PHP, IBM HotMedia, Tango Objects.

Browser compatibility: These extensions include advanced behaviors for detecting browser versions and serving the proper page to each.

DHTML/Layers: Dynamic HTML objects can change after the page has loaded. These objects can help you create moveable, hideable, and otherwise changeable layers, as well as help you make your layers work in different browsers. Examples: Footnote, Expandable Outlines, Toggle.

E-commerce: Use these form objects and scripts to add user interaction functionality for things such as shopping and user feedback. Examples: Banner Exchange Wizard, Guestbook Wizard, NetStores E-commerce Extensions.

Fireworks: Further integrate Fireworks and Dreamweaver in order to create functional images for your pages. Examples: Convert Text to Image, Spacer Creator, Swatch Maker.

Flash Media: These extensions can help you insert Flash objects. You can also get additional Flash Text and Flash Button styles. Examples: Create Flash Photo Album, Flash 5 Object, More Flash Buttons.

Learning: These extensions are specifically for developing educational sites, technical documentation, and the like, using programs such as Authorware and CourseBuilder. Examples: CourseBuilder for Dreamweaver and UltraDev, Learning Site Command.

Navigation: These tools help you create, track, edit, and update navigation tools such as button bars and menus. Examples: Collapsible Menus, Common Form Builder, FrameJammer, External Link Checker, and several different country code palettes.

Productivity: These extensions add functionality to Dreamweaver in the form of shortcuts, adding support for currently unsupported but legal code, and importing data from other programs. Examples: Close Folders; Copy To, Move To Folder; Go to Line Number; Hex Converter; Print Code View; Set Permissions; Site Import/Export; Super Date and Super Email.

Rich media: These tools allow you to insert plug-ins with all the proper parameters supplied. Examples: BeatNik, NetMeeting, QuickTime. Scripting: These tools help you write scripts for your pages as well as for Dreamweaver itself. Examples: Create Behavior, Evaluate JavaScript, Show Document Tree, Show Browser Reference.

Security: Add security features to your pages. Examples: Frame Buster, Find Parent Frameset, WebAssist Swearing Validation.

Style/Format: These extensions work with both HTML tags and CSS styles, and they allow you to format text, line breaks, forms, tables, and page backgrounds. Examples: Apply CSS Class to Form Elements, Background Color Changer, Fix Null Links, XML Line Break.

Tables: Tools for formatting and creating tables and table code. Examples: Alternate Table Rows, Number Columns, Create Table Through ODBC (database).

Text: Additional text editing features for working with Dreamweaver and using features such as embedded fonts. Examples: Change Case, Gradient Text, Inverted Symbols, and many different special character objects and converters.

Installing Extensions With the Extension Manager

The Extension Manager is used for installing, viewing, and uninstalling extensions that you get from the Web. You can visit the Dreamweaver Exchange by clicking on the Macromedia Exchange button on the Extension manager.

To open the Extension manager:

  1. From the Document window menu bar, select Commands > Manage Extensions. The Extension manager will appear (Figure 1).

Figure 1 The Extension Manager helps you install, inspect, turn on and off, and uninstall additions to Dreamweaver.

Installing Extensions

After you download a file, the Extension Manager can install it for you. To install an extension:

  1. If you haven't yet downloaded the file, find the extension you're interested in on the Dreamweaver Exchange, and click on Download for either the Mac or Windows version.

  2. You need to store your extension files in the Downloaded Extensions folder. You can save them there when you download them, or you can copy the files there after they're on your computer. The location of this folder is something like this:

    Windows: C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 4\Downloaded Extensions
    Mac: Hard Drive/Dreamweaver 4/Downloaded Extensions

  3. Open the Extension Manager from your hard drive or from Dreamweaver (Commands > Manage Extensions).

  4. Quit Dreamweaver. Most extensions won't work until you quit and restart Dreamweaver, so you might as well quit now. (Please don't misread that.)

  5. In the Extension Manager, click on the Install button, or select File > Install Extension from the Extension Manager menu bar. Either way, the Select Extension to Install dialog box will appear (Figure 2).

    Figure 2 In the Select Extension to Install dialog box, locate the MXP file you downloaded.

  6. Locate the MXP file in the Downloaded Extensions folder (Figure 3), and select the file name.

    Figure 3 If you've saved your downloaded files in the Downloaded Extensions folder, you'll find them all right there when you're ready to install them.

  7. Click on Install. A license agreement will appear.

  8. Read the agreement and click on Accept if you accept the terms. A dialog box will appear telling you your extension was installed successfully (Figure 4).

    Figure 4 A friendly dialog box will inform you that the installation was successful.

  9. Click on OK, and the name of your new extension will appear in the Extension Manager (Figure 5).

    Figure 5 After you've installed an extension you downloaded, it will appear listed in the Extension manager.

Managing Extensions With the Extension Manager

You can use the Extension manager to turn extensions on and off, to get basic information about the extension and where to find it, and to uninstall extensions.

Using Installed Extensions

As I said previously, there are three kinds of extensions: Behaviors, Commands, and Objects. The Extension Manager indicates what kind an extension is both by an icon and by the Type column.

Behaviors are available in the Behaviors panel.

Figure 6 The icon and the Type column indicate whether the extension is a behavior, a command, or an object.

Commands are available from the Commands menu (Figure 7). I discuss creating your own commands using the History panel in Chapter 18.

Figure 7 Some new extensions I downloaded, including Clean Up FrontPage HTML and Change Case, are now available from the Commands menu.

Objects are available from the Objects panel, sometimes in a brand-new custom category (Figure 8). I discuss adding your own custom categories and objects in Chapter 19.

Figure 8 The Calendar extension I downloaded is now available in a new Objects panel category called Goodies. If I download more extensions from this author, they'll appear here, too.

If you can't find an extension you want to use, click on its name in the Extension manager, and the description text in the lower panel of the window will tell you where it's located (Figure 9). This text also tells you the properties of the extension.

Figure 9 This text describes the extension and tells you how to find and use it.

Turning Extensions On and Off

Different extensions serve different needs and are of vastly differing quality. To turn an extension on or off, select the checkbox next to its name in the Extension manager (Figure 10).

Figure 10 Uncheck the checkbox to turn off an extension; check it to turn it back on.

Uninstalling Extensions

If an extension works badly or is of different use than you expected, you can get rid of it. You can also uninstall an extension if a new, better version comes out and you would rather use the new one.

To uninstall an extension:

  1. In the Extension manager, select the name of the extension.

  2. From the Extension manager menu bar, select Remove Extension., or click on the Remove Extension button. Either way, a dialog box will appear asking if you really want to do that (Figure 11).

    Figure 11 Do you really want to uninstall this extension? If so, click on Yes.

  3. Click on Yes. If Dreamweaver is running, the Extension Manager may ask you to quit and restart Dreamweaver to complete the uninstall (Figure 12). Click on OK, and then do what the dude says.

Figure 12 You may have to quit and restart Dreamweaver for the uninstall to be completed.

Tip

  • Uninstalling an extension does not remove the MXP file you downloaded. If you decide to reinstall the extension, you can do so using the same MXP file.

Importing Extensions From Dreamweaver 3

If you're upgrading to Dreamweaver 4 from Dreamweaver 3, you can easily import any extensions you downloaded from the old version and use them with the new version. Most extensions from Dreamweaver 3 will still work in Dreamweaver 4. You can search the Macromedia Exchange for your extension to see if a new, improved version has been released.

Tip

  • If you're running an old version of the Extension Manager, you should upgrade for free to the new one. The latest version as of this writing is Extension Manager 1.2. To see which version you're running, select Help > About Macromedia Extension Manager from the Extension manager menu bar. To download the new version, visit the Macromedia Exchange by selecting File > Go to Macromedia Exchange from the Extension manager menu bar.

To display Dreamweaver 3 extensions:

  • On the Extension manager, select Dreamweaver 3 from the menu on the toolbar. The Extension manager will list the installed Dreamweaver 3 extensions, if any.

To import Dreamweaver 3 extensions:

  1. From the Extension manager menu bar, select File > Import Extensions. The Select Product dialog box will appear (Figure 13).

    Figure 13 Select the version of Dreamweaver from which you want to import extensions.

  2. From the Product to Import From drop-down menu, select Dreamweaver 3.

  3. If your version of Dreamweaver is in a different location than that indicated in the Location of product to import from text box, click on Browse and locate the correct copy of the software.

  4. Click on OK. The Import Extensions dialog box will appear (Figure 14). To select an extension to import, check the box next to its name. To select all extensions, click on Check All.

    Figure 14 Check the extensions you want to import from Dreamweaver 3 into Dreamweaver 4.

  5. Click on Import. Any extensions from Dreamweaver 3 will be imported into and installed in Dreamweaver 4.